The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has confirmed it will not sell the Port Harcourt Refinery, ending speculation that followed earlier comments suggesting a possible change in the refinery’s future.
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This announcement was made by NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, during a town hall meeting at the company’s headquarters in Abuja. He clarified that the refinery remains a key national asset, and the focus now is to complete its rehabilitation through more advanced technical partnerships.
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The conversation around a potential sale began after Ojulari’s remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he mentioned that “all options are on the table” for the refineries. That statement sparked public debate and raised questions about whether the government was planning to privatise one of its major oil assets.
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According to a fresh statement from NNPC, the company has reviewed its earlier plans and determined that operating the Port Harcourt plant before the full rehabilitation is completed would be unwise and financially unsound. The company said it has since adjusted its approach based on deeper technical and financial analysis.
NNPC noted that progress is ongoing at the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries. However, it admitted that completing the rehabilitation will require more advanced technical expertise than originally anticipated. As a result, the idea of selling the Port Harcourt refinery is now considered not just unlikely but also potentially damaging to its value.
By keeping the refinery under national control, the company hopes to ensure better results from its rehabilitation efforts and restore refining capacity that has been lost for years. NNPC emphasized that selling the refinery at this stage would not benefit the country and could erode its long-term value.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company remains one of Nigeria’s most prominent state-owned refineries, and NNPC’s latest position signals a renewed push to retain and upgrade it rather than let it go.
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